Boy lands 5-pound bass in Willow Bend neighborhood

Bryson Schanz shows off the largemouth bass he caught recently in Lake Charleston in the Willow Bend subdivision.

Special to the Daily News

By WENDY VICTORA / Daily News

Published: Thursday, June 20, 2013 at 04:30 PM.

FORT WALTON BEACH — When Bryson Schanz cast his line into Lake Charleston, the small pond in the Willow Bend subdivision, he was hoping to pull in a rod and reel he’d seen someone toss in water earlier.

He had no bait and no lures, just a sinker and a treble hook to give him the best chance to snag the fishing gear.

Instead, the 11-year-old boy from Mossy Head who was visiting his grandparents in Fort Walton Beach landed a 5-pound largemouth bass.

The boy’s catch last week illustrates what some fishermen already know: You don’t have to find a big body of water to find a big fish.

“You never really know,” said Stan Kirkland, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who added that small freshwater ponds often can yield big results.

“I know somebody that when they go on vacation, they always hit the golf course ponds. Those ponds just don’t get a lot of attention.”

Other potential fishing hot spots are the small lakes along Walton County Road 30A, which might be overlooked because of the Gulf of Mexico’s dazzling proximity.

Rick Young, Bryson’s grandfather, was there when the boy landed the bass. The lifelong fisherman just smiled when asked why he fishes the lakes in that subdivision when the area offers much bigger angling arenas.

“When you don’t have time for all that big stuff, you just go to Willow Bend,” he said.

FORT WALTON BEACH — When Bryson Schanz cast his line into Lake Charleston, the small pond in the Willow Bend subdivision, he was hoping to pull in a rod and reel he’d seen someone toss in water earlier.

He had no bait and no lures, just a sinker and a treble hook to give him the best chance to snag the fishing gear.

Instead, the 11-year-old boy from Mossy Head who was visiting his grandparents in Fort Walton Beach landed a 5-pound largemouth bass.

The boy’s catch last week illustrates what some fishermen already know: You don’t have to find a big body of water to find a big fish.

“You never really know,” said Stan Kirkland, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, who added that small freshwater ponds often can yield big results.

“I know somebody that when they go on vacation, they always hit the golf course ponds. Those ponds just don’t get a lot of attention.”

Other potential fishing hot spots are the small lakes along Walton County Road 30A, which might be overlooked because of the Gulf of Mexico’s dazzling proximity.

Rick Young, Bryson’s grandfather, was there when the boy landed the bass. The lifelong fisherman just smiled when asked why he fishes the lakes in that subdivision when the area offers much bigger angling arenas.

“When you don’t have time for all that big stuff, you just go to Willow Bend,” he said.